Order Fulfillment

Debunking the eBay Myth of Free Shipping
April 9, 2012

If free shipping is the industry standard, as eBay states, then 21 of 25 top e-commerce retailers haven't gotten the memo. A look at 25 retailers found that only Newegg, Costco and L.L.Bean offer unconditional free shipping (Netflix isn't applicable to this discussion). Most of the top retailers (18 of 25) offer free shipping as an incentive to increase order size, such as requiring shoppers to spend a minimum of $25 before becoming eligible for free shipping. While eBay sellers can offer combined shipping discounts, they're unable to use incentives like most e-commerce retailers thanks to eBay's rudimentary shopping cart.

Amazon Opens New Fulfillment Center in Indiana, Creates More Than 1,000 New Jobs
March 28, 2012

Amazon.com announced plans today to locate a new fulfillment center in Jeffersonville, Ind., creating up to 1,050 new jobs by 2015 and approximately $150 million in investment in the state. โ€œThis is Amazonโ€™s fifth Indiana facility, and the company is employing thousands of Hoosiers. Weโ€™re grateful for every one of those jobs,โ€ said Governor Mitch Daniels. โ€œThese facilities will serve customers across the country, further cementing Indianaโ€™s position as the countryโ€™s logistics capital.โ€

Infographic: A Peek Inside Online Retailersโ€™ Warehouses
March 26, 2012

Online retail is big business. So big that online sales are expected to grow 10 percent each year until they reach nearly $280 billion in 2015. However, a great deal happens from the moment you confirm your order to the moment your package arrives on your doorstep. 

The Container Store Enlists Voice Picking Results for Distribution Center
March 26, 2012

The Container Store has installed Jennifer VoicePlus for voice picking in its Dallas distribution center. At the Modex trade show in Atlanta last month, Christy Parra, logistics systems director at The Container Store, described the company's employee-first approach to the selection, implementation and start up of the Jennifer VoicePlus System.

State of the Social Universe: What Marketers Should Keep in Mind, from 4 Experts Who Can Help You Reach for the Stars
March 21, 2012

State of the Social Universe: What Marketers Should Keep in Mind, from 4 Experts Who Can Help You Reach for the Stars

They shared their insights on where things are now, what trends are emerging, what marketers need to emphasize, and how they can make the most of it all. Sections include:

1) Drive the Mobile Vehicle Smartly, and Honor Your Email Opt-In Relationships
- Sara Meaney President, Strategy & Growth, Hanson Dodge Creative

2) It's About Location, Location, Location: Know Where Your Customer Is
- Asif Khan Founder and president of the Location Based Marketing Association

3) On the Rise: Social Intelligence
- Doug Camplejohn CEO of Fliptop

4) Start - and End - with Your Content
- Ann Handley Chief content officer for MarketingProfs

Get Your Mocial Mojo Working: Effectively Integrating Email, Social, Mobile and Local
March 21, 2012

The way we communicate is moving-literally. Smart phones are outselling PCs, and tablet sales are expected to outpace desktop sales by 2013. But although the screens may be smaller, the possibilities for engagement are larger than ever.

You'll find the following covered in this handy whitepaper:

- What Does Mocial Mean for Marketers?
- Determining Your Mocial Strategy and Goals
- Growing Your Email Database Through Social and Mobile
- Making Email More Social
- Extending the Reach of Social and Mobile
- Deploying Integrated Programs Across Email, Social and Mobile

Free Whitepaper: Is it Time to Outsource Order Fulfillment?
March 19, 2012

The direct-to-consumer retail channel is exploding. Can your operations keep pace as demand skyrockets? This whitepaper guides retailers through insightful questions to determine if outsourced order fulfillment is the next step to growing their business.

Fulfillment by Amazon Launches Global Fulfillment for All Marketplaces
March 1, 2012

Amazon will now allow online media sellers to use its fulfillment service to reach a global audience for their off-Amazon transactions. Amazon expanded its multichannel fulfillment service, which allows sellers to fulfill orders from sales channels other than Amazon.com using the seller's own inventory that's stored in Amazon fulfillment centers and for which they pay Amazon fulfillment fees.

American Apparel Cracks Down On Shoplifting
February 20, 2012

American Apparel will be tagging every neon legging, velvet bodysuit, T-shirt and iconic hoodie with a RFID sensor. The sensors will track items from the time they're shipped from American Apparelโ€™s factory in downtown Los Angeles to when a customer purchases the item from one of its 280 stores, helping the chain to keep better track of inventory and disappearances. 

Retail Container Traffic to Show Increases in First Half of 2012
February 16, 2012

Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to be down 6.8 percent in February from the same month a year ago, but should show year-over-year increases through most of the remaining first half of 2012, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.